Interpretive centers

Discover Washington stories at one of our interpretive or visitor centers. Experience the catastrophic Ice Age floods at the Dry Falls Visitor Center or retrace the journey of the Corps of Discovery at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. Peer through one of the largest amateur built telescopes in the country at Goldendale Observatory or step inside a historic lighthouse at Cape Disappointment State Park.

Many interpretive centers are open year round, others are open seasonally.

Retrace the steps of the Corp of Discovery at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment State Park. Set on a cliff high above the Pacific Ocean, the center features interactive exhibits, a short film, a gift shop and a glassed-in observation deck with sweeping views of the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean.

Learn about the biggest public works program in our nation's history at the Civilian Conservation Corps Interpretive Center at Deception Pass State Park. Set in a CCC-built bathhouse at Bowman Bay, the exhibits feature photos, artifacts and video from CCC crews across Washington and the United States.

Learn about the Ice Age floods at the Dry Falls Visitor Center at Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park. The Center overlooks a 400-foot-deep chasm in the Grand Coulee carved out by massive floods thousands of years ago.

The Goldendale Observatory features one of the nation's largest public telescopes and has attracted tens of thousands of sky-watchers since its dedication in 1973. The park offers spectacular views of the countryside from atop the observatory hill in the daytime, and magnificent views of the universe at night.

Relive the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens and learn about the re-growth and recovery of the blast zone at the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center at Silver Lake. The is located across from Seaquest State Park features interactive exhibits and a scale model of the volcano.

The North Head Lighthouse sits on a bluff high above the Pacific Ocean. Once a key navigational aid for mariners approaching the Columbia River from the North, it is now a part of Cape Disappointment State Park. The lighthouse is open to the public for tours seasonally.

Olmstead Place Historical State Park is a working pioneer farm located near Ellensburg, WA. The site features an 1870s-era homestead cabin, and a historic farmhouse and barn, which are open for guided tours.

Overlooking the confluence of the Columbia and the Snake Rivers, the Sacajawea Interpretive Center tells the story of the Corps of Discovery, their Native American guide Sacajawea, and the Sahaptian-speaking Native
Americans that they encountered on their journey west. The center is located in Sacajawea State Park in Pasco.